Machine for smoothing and resmoothing the matrices of ingot molds and other hollow bodies



Dec. 8, 1925. v 1.5 5.039

E. VOITURON MACHINE FOR SMOO'IHING AND RESMOO'IHING THE MATRICES OF INGOT MOLDS AND OTHER HOLLOW BODIES Filed April 10. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec; 8, 1925. 1.565.039

- I E. VOITURON V MACHINE FOR SMOOTHING AND RESMOOTHING THE MATRICES 0F INGO'I MOLDS AND OTHER HOLLOW BODIES K Filed'April 10. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 8, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMOND VOITURON, OF SCLESSIN, NEAR LIEGE, BELGIUM, ASSIGNOR TO SOCIE'IE ANONYME DOUGREE-MARIHAYE, OF DUO-REE, NEAR LIEGE, BELGIUM, A COMPANY DULY INCORPORATED UNDER THE LAWS OE BELGIUM.

MACHINE FOR SMOOTI-IING AND RESMOOTHING- THE MATRICES on meow MoLns AND OTHER HOLLOW BODIES.

Application filed April 10,

To all whom it may canoe m:

Be it known that I, EDMOND VorrUnoN, of Belgian nationality, residing at 264 Rue Ernest Solvay, Sclessin, near Liege, Belgium, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Smoothing and Resmoothing the Matrices of Ingot Molds and other Hollow Bodies, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to machines for smoothing, re-smoothing or otherwise surfacing the internal faces of hollow bodies of any cross section and whether such faces are parallel or otherwise: a special advan tage of the said invention being that it provides forthe accurate internal machining of hollow bodies of considerable length and of circular, polygonal or other sections, such, for example, as ingot molds.

According to the present general practice, ingot molds have had to be supplied to the foundry with rough or unpolished matrices owing to the lack of an effective machine for smoothing the surfaces of such matrices, and it is obvious that the use of molds with rough internal surfaces is attendant with many disadvantages: for instance, molds with rough matrix surfaces are easily and rapidly corroded by molten steel, and this corrosion necessitates making the internal Walls inclined to a considerable angle in order to permit of the subsequent extraction of the casting, and even then, such extraction is often a diflicult and costly operation and sometimes impossible. Un-machined molds are also liable to burst, after being used a small number of times owing to their section varying in relation to their height, whilst owing to the matrix inequalities or irregularities in the molds being of necessity reproduced in the exter nal surfaces of the ingots made therein, and also because of the liability of the castings to contain distortions not externally visible, the goods subsequently produced from such ingots by rolling, forging or similar operations are liable to contain serious flaws.

Moreover, the necessity of steeply coning the ingots externally to enable them to be extracted from the molds is liable to result in serious structural strains being setup 1924. Serial No. 705,663.

therein due to irregular cooling, and the conical formation is also detrimental to the working up of the cast ingots into such products as hoops, tubes and the like.

Irregularities in ingot-molds also occur because of the deformation of the cores used in casting such molds, due to the heating of the cores in stoves before use and to the heating to which such cores are subjected during the mold-casting operation.

The whole of the disadvantages above referred to are avoided by using ingot-molds which have been machined internally by a machine in accordance with the present invention, and moreover, as experience has shown, the costs of mold-production and maintenance are reduced very substantially, and the casting of ingots of perfect quality is. economically realized. These advantages are attributable to the fact that molds whose matrix-surfaces have been smoothed by machining before use are not so sensitive to the corrosive action of molten steel: in fact, experience has shown that such molds have a capacity for resisting this corrosive action two or three times greater than molds having un-machined matrices, and after corrosion has set in to a certain extent, the molds can be readily renovated or restored to their normal efliciency by re-smoothing the corroded surfaces in the machine. Extract-ion of castings from such molds is also facilitated, which enables the tapering of the matrix-walls to be considerably reduced or even dispensed with; indeed, experience has again shown that all the disadvantages arising from the necessity of tapering the matrices to provide for extraction are practically eliminated by using internally smoothed molds.

A constructional form of machine for smoothing or re-smoothing ingot-mold matrices in accordance with the present invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a diagrammatic view showing the relative dispositions of the principal parts of the machine.

Figure 2 is a perspective view illustrating the general arrangement.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a detail part.

Figure 4 represents a modified form adapted for the smoothing of conical, conoido-polygonal, or other tapering form of mold; and

Figure 5, a' further modification adapted for smoothing molds of the same form as in view in the apparatus shown in Figure 4;.

This machine comprises a main shaft 1, rotatably mounted between centres 2, 3, and carrying two slotted frames 4, 5, whose slots 6, 7 and 8, 9 are respectively fitted with slide-blocks 10 and 11, the slides of the slots 6, 8 being connected by a shaft 12, and the other two slots 7 and 9 may be similarly provided with similar slides, not shown, similarly connected by another similar shaft, not shown.

Each slide-block carries a spindle 13 supporting a director-wheel or disc 1 1 which is constrained to travel in a selected path by a stationary tracker arrangement having a trackway corresponding to the section of the mold-matrix to be operated upon by the tool or cutter of the machine.

Each shaft 12 carries a tool-holder 16 in which the tool or cutter 17 is mounted, and to which a lateral or traversing movement is imparted by a feed-screw 18 that is supported in parallel relationship to the shaft 12 by the slide-blocks supporting said shaft. This feed-screw is operated by a star-shaped tap: pet 19, fixed to an extension of the screw and engaging a stationary abutment-piece 20 on the frame of the machine. This mechanism, and the disposition of one of the directorwheels 14 is shown on an enlarged scale in the detail view Figure 3.

The action of the machine is as follows Rotation of the main shaft 1 and guide frames 4 and 5 necessarily constrains the slide-blocks to be carried round in the corresponding angular sense but their path of movement isgoverned by the director-wheels 14- and the stationary tracker hereinafter described. For instance, suppose the tool 17 is adjusted. so that its cutting edge coincides with a line passing through the centres of the wheels let, this edge will describe a path corresponding to the paths which are described by the director-wheels 1 1; the cutter being simultaneously displaced laterally by the rotation of its feed screw by the mechanism 19, 20. Hence, if wheels l t of the same dimensions are used, the tool will machine a matrix of prism section with parallel walls, although by varying the dispositions of same of the parts, the machine can be adapted for operating on matrices of truncated pyramidal, conical or similar form.

The main-shaft 1 may be driven at both ends by drivers 21 engaged by pegs 22 on the gear-wheels 23, 24: forming part of any suitable transmission system such as 25, 26, 27 This double drive of the shaft is preferred as eliminating any tendency to distortion of the latter, but it is obvious that any other suitable mechanism can be used for driving the shaft.

The path of the wheels 14 is determined by a guide or tracker mechanism which may comprise two blocks 28, 29, so disposed in rigid supports as to leave between a groove or slot 15 track-way wherein the corresponding director-wheel 14 engages and travels. Theseblocks are removably mounted in their supports so as to provide for the fitting of any other tracker assembly in which the traclc way has a profile corresponding to the path in which it is desired to direct the tool according to the section of matrix to be machined.

The ingot-mold 32 or other hollow body to be operated upon (shown in section in Figure is fixed in the appropriate position on the bed of the machine by any convenient means.

In the modification illustrated in Figure d and particularly adapted for machining truncated conoidal or like matrices, the shaft 12 may be disposed obliquely between the blocks 10 and 11, as illustrated, the director wheels 14: having universal movement about the balls 14 secured to the stubshafts 13 so as to be capable of angularly displacing themselves with relation thereto to prevent binding against the guide or pattern blocks as, 29.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 5, the blocks 10 and 11 are provided with guide flanges 10 and 11 so as to have no swinging movement with relation to the slotted frames 41-, 5 respectively so that, in order to compensate for this and allow angular movement of the spindle 12 and screw 13 with relation to said blocks 10 and 11 to conform to the face being smoothed, the spindle 12 is slidably held in blocks 10 and 11 by universal joints 12, and the screw 18 by similar universal joints 18, the blocks 10 and 11 being'angularly recessed or cut-out accordingly to permit such relative move ment of the spindle 12 and screw 18, there being also a suitable pivotal or universal connection by blocks 16, in thread engagement with the screw 18, with the tool-holder 16 and the screw 18, and the director wheels 1d directed or guided by the pattern blocks 28, 29 will be smooth and without annular or other grooves, and the cooperating edges of the pattern blocks 28, 29 will be similarly formed, and spaced at an interval from each other such as will permit the wheels 11 1 to change their angular relation thereto with.- out binding in following the pattern.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A machine for smoothing the internal faces of hollow bodies of varying sections and depths and of either parallel or nonparallel generating lines, comprising a relatively fixed rotary main shaft, fixed patternblocks, and guiding frames mounted upon and turning with the said main shaft, in combination with slidably mounted blocks carried by said frames and lying in the same radial plane and on the same side of the axis of said main shaft and having movement radially of said main shaft, a spindle connecting saidsliding blocks, means extending from the respective sliding blocks and engaging the pattern blocks to cause said sliding blocks to move radially of the main shaft in accordance with the pattern as the main shaft rotates, a tool-holder slidably mounted upon said spindle, a tool carried by said holder, a feed screw carried by said sliding blocks and causing said tool-holder to slide longitudinally of said spindle, elements carried by the respective end portions of said feed-screw and parts periodically engaged respectively by said elements to operate said feed-screw.

2. A machine for smoothing the internal faces of hollow bodies of varying sections and depths and of either parallel or nonparallel generating lines, comprising a relatively fixed rotary'main shaft, fixed pattern blocks, and guiding frames mounted upon and turning with the said main shaft, in combination with slidably mounted blocks carried by said frames and lying in the same radial plane and on the same side of the axis of said main shaft and having only move ment radially of said shaft and rotary with the same, a spindle connecting said sliding blocks, means extending from the respective sliding blocks and engaging the pattern blocks to cause said sliding blocks to move radially of the main shaft in accordance with the pattern as the main shaft rotates, a t0ol-holder slidably mounted upon said spindle, a tool carried by said holder, a feedscrew carried by said sliding blocks, a collar mounted upon said screw and having screw-thread engagement therewith, a pivotal connection between said collar and tool-holder to move said holder longitudinally of the spindle as the collar is moved, elements carried by the respective end portions of said feed-screw, and parts periodically engaged respectively by said elements to operate said feed-screw.

3. A machine for smoothing the internal faces of hollow bodies of varying sections and depths and of either parallel or nonparallel generating lines, comprising a relatively fixed rotary main shaft, fixed patternblocks, and guiding framesmounted upon and turning with the saidmain shaft, in combination with slidably mounted blocks carried by said frames and lying in the same radial plane and on the same side of the axis of said main shaft and having movement radially of said main shaft, a spindle connecting said sliding blocks, stub-shafts respectively extending from the respective sliding blocks toward the respective patternblocks, guide-wheels universally mounted respectively on the respective stub-shafts and engaging the respective pattern blocks to cause said sliding blocks to move radially of the main shaft in accordance with the pattern as the main shaft rotates While permitting the guide-wheel to have angular movement with relation to their respective stubshafts in following such pattern, a toolholder slidably mounted upon said spindle, a tool carried by said holder, a feed-screw carried by said sliding blocks and causing said tool-holder to slide longitudinally of said spindle, and means for automatically operating said feed-screw.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification at Brussels, Belgium, this 27th day of March, 1924.

EDMOND VOITURON. 

